Twitter comeback bid draws lawsuit from Elon Musk’s X Corp

On Tuesday, X Corporation, formerly known as Twitter, sued “Operation Bluebird,” the new startup that is seeking to reclaim the allegedly abandoned Twitter trademark and relaunch a new social media network under that name. In its 43-page lawsuit , which was filed in federal court in Delaware, X Corporation alleges trademark infringement, adding that despite Bluebird’s “purported plan, it cannot bring Twitter ‘back’-Twitter never left and continues to be exclusively owned by X Corp.” One of Bluebird’s leaders, Michael Peroff , told Ars in an email that Operation Bluebird was “fully expecting” a lawsuit from X Corporation and that “we planned for it.” Stephen Coates , also of Operation Bluebird (and who formerly served as Twitter’s general counsel), reiterated to Ars that X “legally abandoned the TWITTER mark.” “Our cancellation petition is based on well-established trademark law and we believe we will be successful,” he wrote in an emailed statement. “They said goodbye. We say hello.” Neither X Corporation, nor its attorneys, nor CEO Elon Musk immediately responded to Ars’ request for comment. “Twitter is one of the world’s most recognized brands, and it belongs to X Corp,” X Corp’s lawsuit continues. “Simply put, a rebrand is not an abandonment of trademark rights.” Josh Gerben , a Washington, DC-based trademark attorney who has been closely following this case , told Ars that proving that X Corporation has “abandoned” the trademark is a “huge uphill battle-they’re going to have to climb the equivalent of Mt. Everest.”

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